The Schottey Six: NFL Teams to Benefit Most in an Uncapped 2010

Fans of the National Football League are already worried about an uncapped league.

The fans who love the NFL don't want their favorite sport to turn into what many view MLB has become—a bunch of overgrown sissies playing for billion-dollar payrolls.

The last thing football needs is its own version of the Yankees.

Baseball salaries are ridiculous! Just think about how the NFL—a much more lucrative league—could inflate those numbers!

In terms of basic revenue, team worth, etc. if Alex Rodriguez is worth $27 million a year, Peyton Manning is worth twice that.

The Yankees are, by far, the most valuable MLB team, but hardly turn a profit (comparatively) with their payroll.

A team like the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, or New England Patriots could double or even triple their payroll and still out-earn the Boys from the Bronx.

Which teams will benefit most from an uncapped NFL? Check out The Schottey Six!

6) Seattle Seahawks

Owner: Paul Allen—Microsoft

Team Worth: $994 Million (No. 20)

The Seahawks are on this list because of one man and one man only—Paul Allen is the 12th richest man in the United States and the 32nd richest billionaire in the world.

Not only does Paul Allen have more to spend than many NFL owners, he also has the most ability to woo other investors.

Think of a massive Seattle-based ownership group of Allen adding minority owners in Bill Gates and Howard Schultz (Starbucks). Think that group wouldn't be able to drop $500 million to bring in three star offensive players?

Still, Seattle is a smaller media market, so the overall impact would be limited.

But Paul Allen loves football.

And Paul Allen is a very rich man.

5) Houston Texans

Owner: Bob McNair—Energy investments

Team Worth: $1.2 Billion (No. 6)

Riddle me this...how are the Houston Texans the sixth most lucrative team in the NFL without ever posting a winning record?

Perhaps a better question would be: how much could they be worth after winning a championship?

Houston is the United States' 10th largest media market and is a city that loves its football.

In an uncapped year, McNair would do his level best to unseat the Dallas Cowboys in the hearts and minds of Texas sports fans.

In terms of bringing on other minority investors, McNair is very influential and good friends with Texas businessmen like George W. Bush and Daniel Duncan.

Bob McNair was zealous in bringing the league's 32nd team to Houston. It is not a leap to think he would be just as zealous in bringing a championship there.

4) Los Angeles Earthquakes

Ok, maybe the L.A. team won't be called the Earthquakes.

Whatever the team is named, a NFL team will be moved to The City of Angels in the very near future.

That theme park looking thing above is one of the many photos you can view by going to LosAngelesFootballStadium.com.

Los Angeles is the United States' second largest media market—almost 10 times the size of Buffalo.

A 2011 splash of a new football team in L.A. would include a new stadium, and a ridiculous amount of free agents flocking westward to a town many NFL athletes already have homes in.

3) Miami Dolphins

Owner: Stephen Ross—real estate; Wayne Huizenga—investments

Team Worth: $1 Billion (No. 18)

Stephen Ross owns 95 percent of the Dolphins and Wayne Huizenga owns the other five percent. Both men rank in the Forbes Top 400 Richest Americans.

The Dolphins sit lower on the list of team worth than Stephen Ross would like and he's doing something about it.

When the Florida Marlins move out of Land Shark Stadium in 2012, the stadium will renovate—probably adding video screens, a retractable roof and a boatload of more private boxes.

To fill those seats, the Dolphins want to win. It would help if the Dolphins had a personnel man who knew how to win.

Oh yeah, Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland.

Miami is already a popular NFL town which will be home to the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl this year—a great time to schmooze free agents.

Above and beyond all of those reasons the Dolphins will benefit from an uncapped NFL, The University of Miami has been churning out talented football players for decades.

Most of those multi-millionaire athletes would love to take a pay raise to go back to Miami and its famous nightlife.

2) New York Jets

Owner: Woody Johnson—Johnson & Johnson

Team Worth: $1.5 Billion (No. 5)

With a new head coach along with young studs in Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene, Darrelle Revis, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, etc. the New York Jets already have a bright future ahead.

With a new stadium being built in America's biggest media market, owner Woody Johnson was already planning on the Jets overtaking the Giants as New York's premier team.

The Johnson family has almost unlimited income, far more than the Giants owners, the Mara family, who have made most of their dime from football.

The Giants co-owner Steven Tisch is the owner of Escape Artists—a lucrative movie studio, but that doesn't compare to the makers of America's favorite baby shampoo.

With a core already in place, the Jets wouldn't necessarily need to spend a great deal of money to land them in championship contention...

The fact they still could is a scary proposal for the National Football League.

1) Dallas Cowboys

Team Owner: Jerral Jones—Oil, Football

Team Worth: $1.7 Billion (No. 1)

While it is debatable if Dallas is still "America's Team," it is undeniable that the Cowboys are America's most lucrative sports team. The Redskins and Patriots are close, but neither has a brand new Football mecca with $100 pizzas.

Jerry Jones wants a championship, if that means spending $100 million each on a new QB, LT, RB, WR each, Jones will have no problem with that. He's not afraid of spending to win.

The Dallas, Ft Worth area is the nations seventh largest media market and, arguably, the most football crazed.

Dallas is also one of the few places in America that isn't shrinking in this economy.

If Jerry wanted to bring in other minority owners to invest in a championship, he could easily bilk a few million from the Waltons (Walmart) or even Mark Cuban.

The money is there.

The stadium is there.

Jerry Jones will make sure a championship is there. A salary cap is the last thing standing in his way.

Teams Which Won't Benefit from an Uncapped NFL

Washington Redskins—If Daniel Snyder couldn't spend little money wisely, why would he get better at grabbing talent with lots of money?

Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Arthur Blank and Malcolm Glazer are rich, but already own sports teams in uncapped leagues (L.A. Angels and Manchester United)

Detroit Lions—William Clay Ford doesn't exactly have money rolling in from the auto industry. Meanwhile, how can a team spend money when the fans can't afford tickets?

Buffalo Bills/Jacksonville Jaguars—Whichever team doesn't move to L.A. will suffer as problems with money are already apparent in small and competitive media markets.

Oakland Raiders—Al Davis' main source of income is football and his team is the 32nd most valuable team. Raider Nation may be large and fierce, but the franchise is behind the eightball in terms of media market and stadium worth.

Michael Schottey is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and the producer and host of The Average Joe Sports Show on 860AM KNUJ (New Ulm, MN). He is also an NFL Analyst and Senior Writer for DraftTek.com. Follow Him on Twitter.com/Schottey